9.26.2011

A Little Hint

"A trembling of the Soul." For some in the 18th century, interior design and decorative arts were a serious part of the pursuit of happiness -- a way to stir the senses or maybe try something new. So much so, in fact, that, in the introduction to Exotic Taste, Emmanuelle Gaillard uses Le Camus de Mezieres's "trembling" phrase to underscore the high expectations put upon textiles, furniture, wallpaper etc. Westerners looked to distant lands for increasingly unfamiliar sensations that injected excitement into the domestic realm. If the design was powerful enough, the soul might tremble.

Between Marc Walter's ravishing photography and graphic design, and art historian Gaillard's text, I have to say Exotic Taste has stirred my imagination. Obviously the subject matter isn't new to us now, in the 21st century, but this presentation is exceptional. Today I offer a little hint at what's to come; a complete review is on the way. (BTW: I cut out a significant number of Starbucks runs to make room in my monthly budget for a hardcover, keep-forever copy of Beyond Bloomsbury, so the Bloomsbury/ Omega Workshops posts will also continue.)

Shown at top, from the Musée Galliera-Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, a late-19th-century Campagnie des Indes shawl in its original box. Pictured second, Emile Galle's Japanese-influenced 'Carp' Clair de Lune glass displayed at the Exposition Universelle, 1878 -- object is from Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.